Lower economic growth forecast disappointing: Rangarajan

Indian Prime Minister's economic advisory council chairman C. Rangarajan pauses during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi June 12, 2010.
REUTERS/B Mathur/Files

NEW DELHI The downwardly revised estimate for India's economic growth for this fiscal year is disappointing, but the final figure could still be higher than currently forecast, a top government adviser told Reuters on Thursday.

India's gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to grow an annual 5.0 percent in the 2012/13 fiscal year, signalling that the worst economic slump in a decade could be far deeper than earlier anticipated.

"It is disappointing. My own estimate is when the full year data becomes available, it can be revised upward," said C. Rangarajan, the chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council.

Despite the downwardly revised forecast, the economy could still grow at 5.5 percent or more for the current fiscal year ending March, he said.

He also said the government was expected to meet its revised fiscal deficit target of 5.3 percent for the fiscal year.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; editing by Mattthias Williams)

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